Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1887-01-22
Do lot BLAME YER.

-
could have controlled mysslf sum
cicntly 70 prepare him for the shock, if|
1 bad rad the newspaper hrst this
morning.
I Vas passing Marks cup Of ooffss to
Jane, the servant, whom caught sight
OF his face. Il Was ~ white and rigid
- II can ever be IN his coffin, and his
syes were dtlated In . stare horrible to
eco.
marx. what IL Il, dear? Are you
ill2" cried In terror.
was beside him ~ I spoke, and saw
that bis eyes were hxed upon 3 certain
place In the paper he had been reading.
Then I. too, read the fatal paragraph.
only few lines, but full OF pain ana
horror for poor Mark.
do NOT blame heri Oh, Bessie
bsssiei Ny heart 10 brokspl" he said
In whisper, shuddering - he spoke.
put my arms about him and drew
his head down upon my breast, where
II had 20 often lain in Childhood, when
ny orphaned brother came 70 Sister
Bessie 70 b oomfortsd in boyish woes.
He Wa my only brother. although
was sixteen years the elder.
Little graves ir the cemetery marked
the sorrows Of my Childhood, ~ one
after another my brothers and sisters
had dropped and died. until only Mark
old when our part nts died.
We were mot poos. owing to our own
handsome homo, and . com Portable in
come; % Mark had every advantage Of
eduostion, studied Law, and grad ually
won his way to position In his profes
sion. And had msrrisd, Lost my hus.
band, and returned after an absence Of
only three short months, 70 resume my
place ~ my brother's housekeoper,
DULY my wiosw's dress 70 tell that 1
had ever bssn Away.
1t WAS just after Mark had finished
his studies and been admitted to the
bar that he mot Alice Arnold. She had
come TO CLAY mont TO visit her aunt, .
neer neiRhbor aud old friend OF ours,
and We called upon her.
She wAs about IL then, and her beauty
Won its way TO my heart ~ surely ~ IL
did 70 Marks. She Was the most timid,
gentle creature I ever saw, her color
htsting II you spoke 70 her, her shy
blue eyes dropping, and her voice low
and almost plAiLtive In ita timidity.
nise Arnold, . strong, energetic old
maic, seemed actually 70 terrify her by
her short. brusqae manner, bat she
chung 70 me from tho first hour OF our
friendship Children generally like
me. and fhe Was httle more than .
child. Yet when the became more In ..
timaie. and csme often to psss . whole
day with me, found that below she
frightened. timid manner there was .
clear brain, an intellect that had been
S ""e,snI, cultivated and "es'' true
She vas IN enthusiastic musician
and q fne piAnis., but could not sing.
Nothing delighted her more than TO
play for Mark aud myself to sing uets,
or II l we're tired or busy, 70 hear Mark
sing In his rich baritone voice the music
| she loved.
asked myself, after she had ended
her summer vi,it.if she WA coquet.e,
. cruel, heartless f1irt, who would win
. mans heart only to cast 1t aside. And
In my bitterness hen thought che Wa.
ln late years / acquitted her OF the
crime.
1 believe that she had no suf piciou
that Mark loved her. He was always
grave aud reserved, and, although hs
was but % At that time, he had the air
| and bearing OF . M uoh older man. And
being really DO much her senior, I
think Alice looked upon ms both al
rather elderly people, and was far more
free and confidential than she would
have been II she had looked upon Mark
~ young mau and alover.
Blu! Marx, who had never cared be.
fore for any OF our girl iriends, gave to
Alice Arnold All the store Of love his
heart could offer. knew 1t, for Mark
ksd made me his conhdant all his life,
81 al he .h Il. - Ii
| enoe the tnterest she took In all his pur-
salts, her gentle acceptance OF his grave
attentions, / thought his lsve Was 70
turned, And was hsppy Ia the expecta-
ton OF cloaer tie between the sweet
girl and myself.
Bat just before che left Clay mont,
Mark telling her his love, was ansx cred
BY the ticings that she WAS engaged to
be married. She was dresdfully dis-
tressed, coming TO me to sob out her
regret that Mark loved her, but Loyalty
asserting her own love for her be.
trothed.
After che left as Mics Arnold took
me into her confidence. she told me
tina. Alice WAS an he!ress, and her
moth or Was fool. | am quoting Miss
Arnold. She said that Henry Par ker,
the man who had won Alice's childish
love, was n SNOWY, handsome fel ow, OF
whom the family knew nothing, bat
who was distrus,ed by all but Il moth.
or, who should have been the girls pro
tector, but who was completely fssci
mated by the lovers attentions TO her
self.
Mark said but little to me, bu. know
that he suffered keenlJ. He made some
Inquiries in the city about Harry
Parker. ard was convicted that he was
ar adveLturer. l think my brother
could have borne his own burden bet
ter IL Alice had chosen man worthy Of
her love, but he feared for her future
happiness, thinking her betrotbed had
daxx cd her imagination rather than
Won her heart.
When We received cards for the wed.
ding / thought OF refusing 70 attend,
but Marx decided to 90, and We sent
our wedding gift, snd went mp to the
city 70 be at the ceremony In the church,
and reception afterward. ! could NOT
wonder when saw Henry Parker that
he hsd won Alioe's love He was su-
perbly handsome. and had the winning
manner calculated to change her natural
timidity into Trusting love
And he took the love and the trust to
berry both, to change the love TO 3,
shuddering horror, the trust to shrink.
ing fear. Little by little the poor girl
reused TO the fact that her husband des- !
pissed the gentleness no had 30 often |
praised, and the charm of . full purse
was the one that had attracted him to !
his wife.
Probably father OF guardian woul Id :
have protected Alioe's fortune after
marriage. but 1t WIS under her own |
oontrol, her mother being her only |
guardian. And Henry Parker spent IL
freely; at frst in Q Injurious style OF